AFTERMATH of the Italian-Invasion 1968-1975

As we have already mentioned, by 1967 Italian music in Brazil was getting less and less air-play due to the rise in popularity of Brazilian rock aka Jovem Guarda and the Anglo-American Invasion that was looming and would take hold in 1968. 

RCA compilation album 'Fortissimo vol. II' was the last I ever bought. Later in 1967, RCA released 'Fortissimo vol. III' but I gave it a skip. Now, 48 years later - 2015 - I'll try and 'review' the album for you. 

Actually I couldn't possibly review it because I don't know most of the songs. I can only say I barely remember listening to Gianni Morandi's 'Tenerezza' once or twice.

'Gira gira', Rita Pavone's cover of the Four Tops' 'Reach out, I'll be there' had some air-play but how could it compete with the real thing? 

'Eccola di nuovo', The Rokes' cover of Cat Stevens' 'There goes my baby' had some air-play - maybe because the British band had had a major hit with 'Piangi con me' less than a year before. 

FORTISSIMO Vol. III   -  BBL-207 - late 1967.

1. Per una donna (Corima-Perretta- A. de Martino) - Jimmy Fontana

2. Una come lei (Leva-Nistri-Reverberi-Despota) - The Motowns
3. Tenerezza (Beretta-Olivaris-Renis) - Gianni Morandi
4. Eccola di nuovo (Here comes my baby) Cat Stevens-Cassia-Mogol) - The Rokes
5. Gira gira (Reach out! I'll be there) Holland-Dozier-Holland-Cassia-Cenci - Rita Pavone
6. Guarda se io (Tenco) - Luigi Tenco
7. Ciao amico (Marchetti-Sanjust-Romulo) - Romulo

1. Yeeeeeeh (Sawyer Burton-Sergio Bardotti) – The Primitives

2. La mia serenata (Mogol-Boncompagni-Fontana) – Jimmy Fontana

3. Cercate de abbraciare tutto Il mondo come noi (Shapiro-Cassia-Bardotti) – The Rokes

4. Prendi la chitarra e vai (Geeway-Cook-Bardotti) – The Motowns

5. Damme la mano per ricominciare (Migliacci-Zambrini-Enriquez)

6. Va (Match-Clark-Bardotti) – Carmelo Pagano

7. Io vorrei essere là (Tenco) – Luigi Tenco

As of 1968, Italian music took a terrible battering in Brazil. Even though Roberto Carlos, Brazil's most popular act by far was lucky enough to sing Sergio Endrigo's 'Canzone per te' which ended up winning Festival di San Remo 1968, the trend in Brazil was against all things Italian.

As we have mentioned in the previous post (see review of 'Fortissimo Volume II' in RCA Victor compilation albums) Brazilian rock and Anglo-American hits reigned supreme as of 1968.

PIÙ FORTISSIMO  -  BBL-210 - 1968

1. Il posto mio (Testa-Renis) – Domenico Modugno

2. Ore d’amore (The world we knew - Over and over) Kaempfert-Sigman-Migliacci-Rebbein - Fred Bongusto

3. Gli occhi miei (Mogol-Donida) – Dino

4. Le opere di Bartolomeo (Sergio Bardotti-Ruggero Cini) – The Rokes

5. E se ci diranno (Tenco) – Luigi Tenco

6. Spaghetti, insalatina, ed una tazzina di caffè a Detroit (Migliacci-Bongusto) – Fred Bongusto

7. Sono splendid gli occhi tuoi (Cassia-Anka) – Paul Anka

1. È questa la mia vita (Só vou gostar de quem gosta de mim) Rossini Pinto-Gaspari – Frank Sinatra Jr.  

2. La farfalla impazzita (Mogol-Battisti) – Paul Anka

3. Non me dire may good-bye (Testa-Renis) – Tony Renis

4. Che notte sei (Testa-Mazzucca-Des...) – Tony Renis

5. Israel (Migliacci-Zambrini-Cini) – Gianni Morandi

6. Mi sei entrata nell’ anima (Modugno) – Domenico Modugno

7. Il posto mio (Testa-Renis) – Tony Renis

As for RCA Victor, they released a completely different sort of compilation-album in March 1968. Rita Pavone was gone to Ricordi-Chantecler; Sergio Endrigo had left for Fonit-Cetra in 1965; Gino Paoli was nowhere to be seen. Old-acts like Domenico Modugno and Fred Bongusto were newly signed by RCA.

'Più Fortissimo' was different in more ways than one: 5 songs had come straight from Festival di San Remo 1968. RCA Italiana had been so powerful in the early '60s it didn't have to rely on festivals to promote their records. Times had changed though. RCA was there competing with other labels but none of its songs got higher than #10. 'Gli occhi miei' got as high as number 11.

'Il posto mio' written by Tony Renis opens the LP sung by Domenico Modugno and closes it with Mr. Renis himself - that was a first for a compilation album.

'Gli occhi miei' written by Carlo Donida with lyrics by Mogol was introduced at 1968 San Remo Festival by Dino (Eugenio Zambelli) and Wilma Goich. It covered in English by Welsh singer Tom Jones as 'Help yourself'. Jack Fishman aka Larry Khan wrote the English lyrics which bear no relation the Italian original. 'Help yourself' topped the charts in the UK, Ireland, Germany, Australia and South Africa.  

'Le opere di Bartolomeo' an idiosyncratic entry by The Rokes at San Remo 1968 was the 4th track. 

Apart from The Rokes who were British but had been living in Italy since 1963, Canadian Paul Anka was also in the album with 'La farfalla impazzita' (written by Lucio Battisti who would become big in a few years) which he shared with Johnny Dorelli at San Remo 1968.

The biggest surprise in the album though is Frank Sinatra Jr. who nobody had ever heard notwithstanding his father being who he was. It is actually a double-surprise for Frank Sinatra Jr. sings 'È questa a la mia vita', a cover of Roberto Carlos's, 'Só vou gostar de quem gosta de mim', written by Rossini Pinto and translated to Italian by Gaspari, which the arranger made it out as if it were Mexican.

Needless to say none of the songs contained in 'Più Fortissimo' had any air-play in Brazil. Times had definetly changed. 'Canzone per te' sung by Brazilian Roberto Carlos was the only Italian hit in Brazil in 1968, except for an anachronism: Gigliola Cinquetti's 'Dio come ti amo' (released in early 1966) was still playing on the radio due to her film of same name being shown in the many cinemas in Brazilian cities as of July 1967. Cinquetti's EP featuring 'Dio come tia amo' and 'Non ho l'età' kept on the best selling list for more than 2 years, something that had never happened before or since. 

Roberto Carlos sings 'Só vou gostar de quem gosta de mim' in Italian, titled as 'Io sono un artista'; note that it has got different lyrics from the one recorded by Frank Sinatra Jr.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CbGijPKWY9w

'È questa la mia vita' (Só vou gostar de quem gosta de mim) recorded by Frank Sinatra Jr. in 1967 but released in 1968 in this Brazilian compilation-album.

Roberto Carlos is welcome back at the tarmac of São Paulo Airport after having won Festival di San Remo 1968. Actually, Sergio Endrigo was the one who won it with 'Canzone per te'. All songs competing in the contest were sung twice; first by an Italian act and then by a foreign act. Roberto Carlos was lucky enough to have been allotted Endrigo's song which would eventually win the Festival.

 Roberto Carlos talks about how 'Canzone per te' ended up winning San Remo 1968. 

TV guide Intervalo tells all about San Remo and Roberto Carlos.

11 February 1968 - TV Globo, Channel 5 presents a compendium of the final night (3rd February 1968) of Festival di San Remo in which Sergio Endrigo's 'Canzone per te' also sung by Roberto Carlos won the competition. It was shown on Monday night, 12 February 1968, at 8:30 pm.

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'Zingara' was the biggest Italian hit in 1969. Rossano's 'Ti voglio tanto bene' received a lot of air-play too.

As of 1969, RCA (later taken up by RCA Camden) started releasing compilation-albums of Italian hits from 1963 to 1968. which had already been included in previous compilation-albums or not. The series of four albums was called 'Gli anni moderni', with the adjective 'modern' still attached to the music made in the Peninsula. 

GLI ANNI MODERNI - 107.7009 - 1969

1. Io che amo solo te - Sergio Endrigo
2. Legata a un granello di sabbia - Nico Fidenco
3. Se non avessi più te - Gianni Morandi
4. Cuore - Rita Pavone
5. Il mondo - Jimmy Fontana
6. L'amore se ne va - Carmelo Pagano
7. C'era un ragazzo che come amava i Beatles e i Rolling Stones - Gianni Morandi

1. Non son degno di te - Gianni Morandi
2. Sapore di sale - Gino Paoli
3. Ciao amore ciao - Luigi Tenco
4. Datemi un martello - Rita Pavone
5. Quando dico che ti amo - Tony Renis
6. Fortissimo - Rita Pavone
7. In ginocchio da te - Gianni Morandi

'GLI ANNI MODERNI' Vol. II  - 107.7013 - 1969

1. O mio Signore - Edoardo Vianello

2. Il nostro concerto - Jimmy Fontana

3. Quando, quando, quando - Pierfillippi

4. Il ballo del mattone - Rita Pavone

5. Piangi con me - The Rokes

6. Vivrò (Ma vie) - Alain Barrière

1. Si fa sera - Gianni Morandi

2. Guarda come dondolo - Edoardo Vianello

3. Se mi vuoi lascirare- Michele

4. La ragazza di Liverpool - Tony Renis

5. Dove non so (Tema di Lara) - Rita Pavone

6. Per una donna - Jimmy Fontana

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'GLI ANNI MODERNI'  Vol. III - 107.7028 - 1970 

1. Zingara - Gianni Morandi

2. Tutta la gente - Nico Fidenco

3. Fortissimo - Rita Pavone

4. Annamaria - Sergio Endrigo 

5. Ascolta nel vento - The Rokes

6. Vedrai, vedrai - Luigi Tenco

1. Abbronzatissima - Edoardo Vianello

2. È la pioggia che va - The Rokes

3. Meglio stasera - Miranda Martino 

4. Giramondo - Nicola Di Bari

5. A casa d'Irene - Nico Fidenco

6. Israel - Gianni Morandi

F O R T I S S I M O  Vol. VII  -  BBL 225 - 1970

1. Noi ci amiamo (Avogadro-Chelon) - I Protagonisti
2. Bambina di treccie (Menina de trança) Antonio Marcos-v.: Amilcar Cerri - Antonio Marcos
3. Occhi di ragazza (Baldazzi-Bardotti-Dalla) - Gianni Morandi
4. L'anello (Migliacci-Righini-Lucarelli) - Nada
5. C'era una volta il West (Ennio Morricone) - Ennio Morricone
6. È così difficile (Dossena-Lucarelli-Henry Mancini) - Jimmy Fontana

1. Ha gli occhi chiusi la città (Everybody's talkin') (Fred Neil; v.: Gian Pieretti) - Gianni Morandi
2. L'inamorata che sognai (A namorada que sonhei) Osmar Navarro; v.: Franca Fenacci - Nilton Cesar
3. Come hai fatto (Modugno) - Domenico Modugno
4. La spada nel cuore (Mogol-Donida) - Patty Pravo
5. La prima cosa bella (Mogol-Nicola di Bari) - Nicola di Bari
6. Una favola blu (Morina-D'Ercole-Melfa) - Claudio Baglione

26 July 1970 - Intervalo's pop-music columnist Tom Carlos says 'Bambina di treccie' with Antonio Marcos singing in Italian has got good air-play in Sao Paulo.

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'Anonimo Veneziano', theme-song of the sound-track of a movie of the same name, composed and played by Stelvio Cripiani, who had visited Brazil in 1964, as the pianist accompanying Rita Pavone in her South American tour.

listen to 'Anonimo Veneziano' by Stelvio Cipriani:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=izPiqPWyJh0

Rita Pavone, Teddy Reno & pianist Stelvio Cipriani arriving in Brazil in June 1964.

'GLI ANNI MODERNI' Vol. IV - 107.7022 - 1971

1. Tanto cara - Guido Renzi

2. Una lacrima - Giusy Latresi 

3. Ti amo - Sergio Endrigo

4. Una donna nel mondo - Nico Fidenco

5. I mondo è grigio - Nicola Di Bari

6. Il mondo è blu - I Protagonisti

7. Noi ci amimamo - I Protagonisti 

1. Il posto mio - Domenico Modugno 

2. Come te non c'è nessuno - Rita Pavone

3. Chimera - Gianni Morandi 

4. Lontano, lontano - Luigi Tenco

5. La mia serenata - Jimmy Fontana

6. Vagabondo - Nicola Di Bari 

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From the early 1970s, foreign songs only became hits in Brazil if they were featured in a major soap-opera (called 'novela') that were shown nightly on TV from Monday through Saturday. 

'Tu nella mia vita', sung by Wes & Dori Ghezzi was featured in TV Globo's 'Os ossos do barão' that ran from October 1973 to April 1974. 

'Noi due per sempre', with the same duo, Wes & Dori Ghezzi was at TV Globo's 'novela-das-sete'  'Corrida do ouro' which ran from July 1974 to 25 January 1975.

'Tu sei così' by Fred Bongusto was featured at TV Tupi's 'Idolo de pano' which ran from September 1974 to 31st May 1975. 

Brazilian TV novelas usually ran from 6 to 9 months. Some were more successful than others; 'Idolo de pano' was a fairly good novela on TV Tupi which featured Fred Bongusto's magnificent 'Tu sei così' in the sound-track.

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'Bella senz' anima' sung magnificently by  Riccardo Cocciante had a lot of air-play earlier in the year... and then 'Tornerò' by a band called I Santo California took to the airwaves like crazy later in 1975. 

And I guess that does it for the Post Invasion era of Italian hits in Brazil. Those were the most memorable Italian hits to reach Brazil in the late 1960s and 1970s.